By Bernard Rowan
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In watching recent Asian dramas, Korean and otherwise, I've noticed many examples of these accessories. I decided to learn a bit more about them and to share. Wikipedia provides a good point of reference, and its entry for binyeo notes the two main types according to whether the shape is straight or curved. Experts need to update the page, as several of its reference links need fixing.
Amazon.com also features one entry for binyeo, currently unavailable. It links to other hair accessories and Korean and Asian clothing in a small slideshow reflecting the Korean wave's influence on other cultures. Bing and other websites have similar collages of photographs and images. YouTube features several interesting videos on Korean hairpins too.
I learned hairpins' materials and style depend on the status of a woman. Fancier pins made of more ornate and precious materials, including gold, silver and amber, contrast with those of nickel, brass, bone, wood, or other simpler designs. They correlate with different categories of women's hair organization. Higher status women had more hair and more elaborate arrangements.
Married women wore hairpins and shouldn't remove them. They symbolized a marriage and class standing. Several sources suggest they date to the Goguryeo and Three Kingdoms periods and saw greatest use during the Joseon era. During Silla, the binyeo saw a ban on use, as the king thought they implied ranks in violation of the dominant hierarchy.
Korean men also used binyeo for their topknots. The Asia Society says this changed with the Joseon era, a time when many Confucian and Buddhist practices and habits hardened into rigid dichotomies. Men presented their betrotheds with hairpins as a bonding. Widows wore plain and unadorned hairpins of wood.
Women varied their hairpins according to the seasons and occasion. Kimchicrew.com on Facebook notes the materials included plum tree, bamboo and jade. The different types of hairpins had distinctive names, including okbong, wonang, isaryeon, moran, and maejuk.
Glimja has a nice entry on the Deviant Art website explaining the meaning of different images used in binyeo. A queen wore the dragon, and the queen or princess a phoenix. The plum blossom or bamboo stand for fidelity, walnuts for health, and pomegranates for fecundity.
Binyeo are practical ornaments and interesting works of art and design. They take on the qualities of the artisan and of the user, depicting roles and rituals of Korean life. I even read on the Asia Society's binyeo page that hairpins capture and represent the user's spirit! Binyeo show the woman's self in a different way.
Today's children and adults are so busy. We don't take the time to dress as nicely, during leisure time. However, fashion is fickle; trends change. I haven't seen any renaissance for the binyeo or traditional Korean styles of dress. Yet many women and men still don the hanbok, at special times of year. Many women also use hairpins as a form of adornment and costume or real jewelry.
Foreigners and friends of Korea may compare these beautiful and useful objects with the widespread bobby pins, hair bows, ribbons, clasps, and other more utilitarian items. Their artistry, variety, and beauty appeal. They also last. The binyeo's durability stands against the trends of our throwaway society.
Bernard Rowan (browan10@yahoo.com) is associate provost for contract administration and professor of political science at Chicago State University. He is a past fellow of the Korea Foundation and former visiting professor at Hanyang University.
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